Immigration activists protest, call on President Barack Obama to put freeze on deportations

The hot-button issue of immigration took center stage in downtown Raleigh this weekend.

Dozens of people gathered in front of the Wake County Detention Center Saturday afternoon to protest against deportations. It was all part of a "National Day of Action" playing out in cities across the U.S.

The protestors are calling on President Barack Obama to place a freeze on deportations in the country.

The march ended at the Wake County Detention Center, where immigrants are detained before they are deported.

"He doesn't need to wait for Congress to pass an immigrant reform. He can do it immediately," said march organizer Nayley Perez-Huerta.

Immigration activists are calling on Obama to take a meaningful stand in the deportation debate and say he has the executive power to stop them from happening.

An organizer for the march says there have been massive amount of deportations in the south under Obama's leadership.

"We've seen many of our families torn apart and his words are not enough anymore. We need to see actions," Huerta said.

Last month, Obama asked a Homeland Security official to review enforcement practices to ease his administration's rate of deportation. Almost two million people have been removed from the U.S. since he took office.

Yolanda Zavala's son was one of the people forced out. The mother said through a translator her son grew up in Raleigh, moved to North Carolina from Mexico when he was five, and then one-week after he turned 18 was forced to leave. She marched saying she does not want any more families to experience that pain.

"It hasn't been easy at all. My son is alone in Mexico and I can't go back," she said.

The march was part of a national call for action. Similar demonstrations were held across the country.